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Kent County chapter supports call for justice for young Indigenous man killed in hit and run

April 10, 2018 - 10:48pm

The Council of Canadians Kent County chapter at the #JusticeForBrady rally in Moncton on April 7 that drew more than 150 people.

The Council of Canadians Kent County chapter is supporting the demand for justice for 22-year-old Brady Francis.

CBC reports, "After more than 40 days without an arrest, a rally calling for justice for Brady Francis was held Saturday [April 7] in front of Moncton City Hall. The First Nation community of Elsipogtog, where Francis lived before his hit-and-run death, has been passionately urging the justice system to take action. Francis was struck and killed by a vehicle Feb. 24 at about 9:30 p.m. in Saint-Charles while waiting for a ride home. After more than half an hour of rallying in front of City Hall, the crowd moved down Main Street where they continued in front of the Codiac RCMP headquarters."

A drum circle took place at the gathering. 91.9 in Moncton notes, "Event organizer Patty Musgrave explains the importance of the drum circle at the rally. 'The first song we sang was the strong spirit song, we sent that to Brady', says Musgrave. 'We sang the happy song, for me in particular it means a lot, and to send Brady's spirit happiness, so that he'll have faith we'll get to the bottom of this all together.'"

Another CBC article reports, "While RCMP know the identity of the truck's owner, who was driving it at the time of the collision is 'part of the ongoing investigation', said Cpl. Jullie Rogers-Marsh, media relations officer for the RCMP in New Brunswick."

Both CBC articles about Francis' hit-and-run death note the death of another 22-year-old Indigenous man, Colten Boushie.

Susan Levi-Peters a former Chief of the Elsipogtog First Nation, says, "We want to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen that happened with Colten's case in Saskatchewan where the RCMP did a lot of wrong in their investigation. I don't know what seems to be the delay [in making an arrest] here."

And former Chief Jesse Simon, referring to the deaths of Francis, Boushie, 15-year-old Tina Fontaine in Winnipeg, and many Indigenous youth across the country, says, "We're always constantly dealing with tragedy and it never gets easy."

Global News notes, "Francis would have turned 23 on April 21. A benefit will be held on that date in his honour to raise money to help the family cover legal fees."